CURRENT TOP 10 BEAUTY FAVOURITES - COLLABORATION WITH LA BLOG BEAUTE

When sending out a tweet about blog collaborations the lovely Beth from La Blog Beaute tweeted me back, so don't forget to go give her lovely blog a peak. I was so excited to get to know a new blogger I hadn't met before, and she is super lovely which made my tweet worth while! We came up with the idea of our top 10 current favourites which was super easy for me. My makeup changes from month to month when I find new colours or new ideas that I like to get creative with, and these gorgeous 10 are the ones that have become my current favorites.

CIATE MINT CHOCOLATE NAIL VARNISH REMOVER - I'm currently obsessed with this at the moment. It leaves my fingers smelling all minty and sweet so of course it's a favourite. I did a full review on this recently which you can read here.
MAC BLUSH IN ROYAL SUNSET - A favourite of mine for a year now and I rarely stray from this. I'm honestly not wild about blushes and only own about 6 or 7. For this to be in my favourites really means something and goes to show how beautiful this is. It gives my pale skin the healthy pinkish glow in needs and gives my whole face a lift. Unfortunately this is a limited edition blush but is one that Mac seems to re-promote. It's not exactly a unique shade, but it's gorgeous. See my full review here.
ESSIE AVENUE MAINTAIN - This is from their 2013 collection but it's my to go to nail polish when I'm on the go. It only needs one coat and it dries super quickly. Great for on the go girls. It's a pretty shade of blue which may not be a favourite for autumn, but I'll be wearing this in the winter weeks. I have an old review for this here.
MAC 217 - I literally can't imagine blending without this. I LOVE THIS BRUSH. I always reach for it, and for me it's been an investment. It's blends effortlessly and I haven't a clue how I lived without it before this year. I can't seem to find this on their website but it was around the £17 mark.
SHU UEMURA EYELASH CURLERS - Yes, they're worth the hype. A little pricey at £20 from Space NK, but again this is an investment. When I did my makeup course these were the curlers they used so I had picked one up! I've never regretted spending £20 on a pair of eyelash curlers, and I had an inkling that I might.

MAC REFILL IN SHALE - This pretty delicate purple shade is perfect for autumn! It has a frosty grey tone purple finish which looks lovely by itself or blended with Vex, also from Mac, which I usually go for. It's perfect for adding a slight hint of colour if you're usually scared of it. You can get this from Mac for £10.
JEFFREE STAR I'M ROYALTY - I am literally obsessed with this shade and I wear it everywhere. Not only is the finish incredible, it lasts all day. All Jeffree Star products are vegan too if you're interested in that type of product. You can see my full review here and buy it for £13 from Cocktail Cosmetics.
NEAL'S YARD ROSEMARY AND CEDARWOOD HAIR TREATMENT - Since becoming a mermaid and bleaching my poor hair my scalp needs some TLC. This gives my roots the moisture it needs and gives my new growing hair some strength. This is perfect for the autumn and winter months as your scalp needs moisture just like your face! It's only £6.50 from Neal's Yard so I think that's such a bargain. You can read my full review here. Give your scalp some happiness!
NEAL AND WOLF VELVET HAIR OIL* - I picked this up from the Norwich Event and since bleaching my hair this has been my hair food. It gives moisture to my hair without weighing it down, and really smooths out those pesky frizzy bits. I am never without this as my hair really craves it. I'll do an in depth review soon as I am loving this! Grab this from Neal and Wolf for £14.95.
URBAN DECAY VICE 2 PALETTE - Even though this is limited edition and no longer available I always reach for this. I can create the perfect gold eye, a creative colourful smokey eye or natural looks. I really think this is one of the best palettes Urban Decay has ever come out with and it's so universal. If you ever come across this do pick it up as it's worth every penny.

So there we have it - my current favourites. Which will probably change as I'm always jumping between products. Check out Beth's top 10 here where she has some pretty lush favourites! Don't forget to follow her on Blog Lovin' and keep up to date with all her lovely posts. Are any of these your favourites? Thanks for reading!

ESSIE ON A SILVER PLATTER REVIEW FROM THE ENCRUSTED COLLECTION

Never really been an Essie girl, and always stayed true to my OPI ways. However, I made a cheeky exception when this gleaming beauty caught my eye. Hovering around Boots' 3 for 2 section I noticed I hadn't checked out Essie yet - And saw this little beauty sitting on the shelf. How could I refuse? This gorgeous unique glitter from the Encrusted collection is named On A Silver Platter - It's so gorgeous and expensive looking, it deserves it!

These photos really don't give this polish justice. With just two thick coats I had gorgeously sparkly nails to hit the town. If you apply thinly, it's still sheer, but over white, gold, navy or black this looks really pretty. But with two thick coats you get full coverage. The glitter spread effortlessly and evenly over the nail. The glitter in this polish is to die for. The blue hex glitter has a pretty rainbow holographic like shimmer to it, while the gold shimmery base has an almost white shimmer to it in certain lights - Definitely not a polish I can think of a dupe for! The only down side to this polish if you're wearing it alone is the life of it. By the end of the day I had bad chips, and the day after it just didn't want to stay on. However, it has quick drying time, so it's perfect for a one evening wear.

What do you think of this polish?

And what's your favourite Essie polish?

Grab this gorgeous shade from Boots for £9.99.

Hurry, it's limited edition!

Thanks for reading!!

ESSIE POLISH IN PRETTY EDGY REVIEW AND SWATCH

In the beautiful city that is Berlin, I picked up this gorgeous emerald green varnish, perfect for autumn. I've not had many Essie shades so I was super excited and could not wait to see the outcome. Unfortunately, I was very let down. I've had mixed experienced with my previous Essie shades and only been overly impressed by two. This shade looks gorgeous in the bottle, and does on the nails, but after many, many coats. This grass colour in Pretty Edgy is from the Summer 2010 collection.

L-R, 1st nail one coat, 2nd nail 2 coats, 3rd nail 3 coats.

As you can see the formula is very sheer on the first coat, and even through to the 3rd coat you can still see streaks. I needed 4-5 coats to get an opaque look. To get to that point is a bit of a chore though. Not only am I waiting around for each coat to be applied, it's not the quickest of drying. Even after the 2nd coat I was waiting for a while for the coat to completely dry before applying another. If I didn't know the brand, my initial thoughts would have been that this polish was very cheap. I wasn't impressed with this and it's going to the back of my collection, or even given to my younger sibling. As I said before, I find Essie very hit and miss, and this is most definitely a miss. 

Have you had any colours from Essie that didn't reach the standards you expected?

If you're interested in this polish, grab it from LookFantastic for £9.95.

AVENUE MAINTAIN ESSIE SWATCH AND REVIEW SPRING 2013 COLLECTION

After trying this shade, I am now converted to the Essie ways. Usually an OPI lover I wasn't 100% sure how this was going to pan out. My boyfriend surprised me with this gorgeous blue and beamed like a Cheshire cat when he told me it was limited edition. Straight from the Spring 2013 Collection from Essie, this gorgeous Parisian blue is perfect for summer and I can't wait to wear it more. This bottle of sky-like creamy varnish comes in the sleek Essie polish bottles that we all know and love. When you unscrew the white lid you are welcomed to a medium sized brush which spreads perfectly over the nails meaning you're in need of less strokes! What I love about this polish, not just the beautiful colour, but the fact that it needs one coat. I couldn't believe it. These pictures on this post is with just one coat of the glossy goodness. This shade also has a really lovely finish with a perfect amount of shine to a creamy formula. Essie polishes always last a while on the finger tips and this is no exception. What's not to love? Gorgeous colour, great formula, one coat and long lasting. Seems pretty perfect to me! The only knock back is the £7.99 price tag that comes with it. But with one coat per nail needed, this will last a while compared to a standard polish that needs 2-3. An absolute win.

Grab this Essie polish for £7.99 from your local Boots. I can't seem to find it on their website, so pop in to see their new collection.

What do you think of this shade?

What's your favourite Essie shade?

I'd love to hear from you!

Thanks for reading, beautiful!

NAILS OF THE DAY - VALENTINES INSPIRED GLITTERY NAILS

Instead of being whisked away to a romantic meal or been bombarded with flowers some of us are sitting in their homes twiddling their thumbs. Instead of twiddling them - I'm painting them! To keep boredom at bay I have a habit of playing around with my make up and nail varnishes. I picked up two varnishes, Models Own Show Stopper, an exclusive shade to Clothes Show which I was lucky enough to be given by the lovely Holly Arabella. The second one was Nothing Else Metals by Essie. You can also win this shade in my giveaway.

Nothing Else Metals is a metallic silver with gorgeous pink tones. This really looks stunning on the nails only only needs one coat!! Show Stopper is becoming one of my favourite glitter polishes, and is full of fine pink, silver and violet glitter and also larger blue and silver glitter which change colours in the light - stunning!

This Essie polish has a really wide brush so it covered my nails effortlessly. As I said it needed one coat, so a win for me!! As you can see the shine on this gorgeous colour is just perfect and the hint of pink gives it a unique look. I then dabbed the Show Stopper at the tips and waited for it to dry. Then I built the colour up by adding layers of different amounts of glitter to create a gradient effect. How simple!! Show Stopper and Nothing Else Metals dried so quick so I was able to carry on with the day and not worry about any smudges. I was so pleased with how it looked. A perfect princess looking mani. Try doing it with colours of your choice!

I hope you enjoyed reading and link me up with your Valentines and glittery manis! 

Thank you so much for reading!

NAILS OF THE DAY - CIATE COLOUR SMASH REVIEW USING VARIOUS VARNISHES

I like fun nails during my days at Uni. As we're allowed no make up, I make sure I make my nails as amazing as I can! I hadn't tried my Ciate Colour Smash varnishes yet (I got a set of the silver, black and white last year on a trip to Northampton) so I decided to try it out. I wasn't sure what colours to use as the base so I used a bunch!

First I applied the base colours and waited to dry, and then painted a generous amount of Ciate Colour Smash in white over the top. Overall I really loved Ciate's take on the crackle effect and they did a great job. See the products I used for making this look. What do you think of crackle effects? What is your favourite crackle effect nail polish? Thanks for reading! I love having a rainbow of glossy colours and these are the ones I selected. We have:

• Dating A Royal - OPI - A gorgeous deep electric blue inspired by Kate's engagement ring. The formula is great, as I know a lot of OPI's can be hit and miss. It has a long wear too!
• Fly - OPI - A gorgeous teal colour. This is one of my to go to polishes as it just looks stunning on the nails. This is part of the Nikki Minaj collection.
• Green With Envy - Sally Hansen - A lovely lime green. It's a dream to apply as it's creamy formula is so easy to work with. It has great wear too.
• Hampstead Gardens - Nails Inc - A gorgeous brown/yellow which is set to be a 'trend shade'. This was all over the catwalks last autumn and I expect it to make a return! I wasn't huge on the wear of this as I find Nails Inc chip not long after application.
• Chubby Cheeks - Essie - I love this colour! A gorgeous coral with a pink tone to it. I am completely in love. I think the wear to this is very similar to OPI. However this shade had a better pay off compared with many OPI shades I have.
• White Ciate Colour Smash. I love this. It has a better wear than a lot of crackle effects as many of them rub off, but this baby stays put. You can get this online from Ebay, Amazon etc, but not from Ciate anymore I'm afraid! Search online for it or outlets, I've seen these in TKmaxx a few times.

TO BUY OR NOT TO BUY FROM ESSIE REVIEW AND SWATCH

I've been a fan for Essie for a while, and now that it's finally came to Boots, I'm even more of a fan!! I picked up this lilac beauty up because it had a twist on the usual pastel shade. It was full of blue and pink shimmer. The name 'To Buy Or Not To Buy' is ironic, because I seriously had to buy it. I love pastels and this colour just looks gorgeous, and even more so on the nails. It stayed on my nails for ages too! It's also a cheaper alternative to OPI. I was really happy with this shade and cannot wait to show it off in spring. This colour would also look lovely with a glittery or shimmery top coat, but this is still gorgeous on it's own. Thank you Essie!! I love this beautiful colour and the staying power! LOVED this shade!!